Montclair's 'Souper Bowl' mixes fun and a good cause

Next month's Super Bowl has origins dating back to 1967, when the champions of the then-National Football League and American Football League squared off for one final showdown.

Montclair's Souper Bowl, a charity touch football tournament running from this past Jan. 18 to Feb. 1, has origins nearly as old.

As told by Brian Scantlebury, organizer of the Souper Bowl, former Montclair High School athletes would gather at Edgemont Memorial Park on the Friday after Thanksgiving every year from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s to play touch football. Given the feasting customary to the day prior to the game, the event was referred to as "The Fat Bowl."

Three decades later, when considering events for Montclair's winter festival honoring Super Bowl XLVIII, Scantlebury said that a Fat Bowl-like event was an obvious choice. At the suggestion of Stuart Hardwood, it was determined that teams would pay a $50 fee to enter the touch football tournament, with proceeds going to Toni's Kitchen, a Montclair nonprofit that provides meals for people in need.

Montclair's Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department stepped in as an intermediary, securing Woodman Field for the three-Saturday tournament and assisting with the organizing, according to department head Pat Brechka. The conception of the idea, she said, was all Scantlebury.

This past Saturday, the Souper Bowl kicked off under wet and wild conditions. Scantlebury said that Saturday's snowstorm discouraged some teams from participating. However, teams are still welcome to jump into the tournament beginning this Saturday, Jan. 25.

Interested players can call Scantlebury at 862-754-6664.

Scantlebury said that he hopes to have a series of games played this Saturday, making way for a final championship showdown on Saturday, Feb.1, the winner being announced during a "winter festival" on Church Street that same day.

Judging by the fun already had during the opening games on Jan. 18, Scantlebury said that the event has been a success and that he has "enjoyed watching grown men be kids."

Anne Mernin, director of Toni's Kitchen, said she was happy that the soup kitchen was chosen as the event's beneficiary.

"I think it's terrific," Mernin said. "It's great that people are thinking of us. We need people thinking of us during these cold winter months."

Montclair's 'Souper Bowl' mixes fun and a good cause

Next month's Super Bowl has origins dating back to 1967, when the champions of the then-National Football League and American Football League squared off for one final showdown.

Montclair's Souper Bowl, a charity touch football tournament running from this past Jan. 18 to Feb. 1, has origins nearly as old.

As told by Brian Scantlebury, organizer of the Souper Bowl, former Montclair High School athletes would gather at Edgemont Memorial Park on the Friday after Thanksgiving every year from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s to play touch football. Given the feasting customary to the day prior to the game, the event was referred to as "The Fat Bowl."

Three decades later, when considering events for Montclair's winter festival honoring Super Bowl XLVIII, Scantlebury said that a Fat Bowl-like event was an obvious choice. At the suggestion of Stuart Hardwood, it was determined that teams would pay a $50 fee to enter the touch football tournament, with proceeds going to Toni's Kitchen, a Montclair nonprofit that provides meals for people in need.

Montclair's Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department stepped in as an intermediary, securing Woodman Field for the three-Saturday tournament and assisting with the organizing, according to department head Pat Brechka. The conception of the idea, she said, was all Scantlebury.

This past Saturday, the Souper Bowl kicked off under wet and wild conditions. Scantlebury said that Saturday's snowstorm discouraged some teams from participating. However, teams are still welcome to jump into the tournament beginning this Saturday, Jan. 25.

Interested players can call Scantlebury at 862-754-6664.

Scantlebury said that he hopes to have a series of games played this Saturday, making way for a final championship showdown on Saturday, Feb.1, the winner being announced during a "winter festival" on Church Street that same day.

Judging by the fun already had during the opening games on Jan. 18, Scantlebury said that the event has been a success and that he has "enjoyed watching grown men be kids."

Anne Mernin, director of Toni's Kitchen, said she was happy that the soup kitchen was chosen as the event's beneficiary.

"I think it's terrific," Mernin said. "It's great that people are thinking of us. We need people thinking of us during these cold winter months."